{"id":267600,"date":"2026-04-27T00:06:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T00:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/267600\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T00:06:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T00:06:41","slug":"analysis-what-does-tcu-footballs-post-spring-depth-chart-look-like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/267600\/","title":{"rendered":"Analysis: What does TCU football\u2019s post-spring depth chart look like?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spring camp offered a glimpse of what TCU football\u2019s lineup could be in the fall.<\/p>\n

The Horned Frogs return much of the core of last year\u2019s 9-4 team<\/a> that finished ranked No. 25<\/a> in the Associated Press poll, which means there are many positions that already have their hierarchy sorted out.<\/p>\n

But who will replace stars like wide receiver Eric McAlister and safety Bud Clark? Will it be young, ascending players or one of the transfers TCU brought in<\/a> during the winter?<\/p>\n

Here is what TCU\u2019s potential two-deep looks like after 15 spring practices:<\/p>\n

\u26a1 Full coverage of TCU football spring camp:<\/p>\n

\u2192Horned Frog finds new purpose after career-ending injury<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Five things we learned from spring camp<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Six top performers from spring camp<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Hero of Alamo Bowl eager to lead TCU’s running backs<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Why this defensive end’s return is so beneficial<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Transfer safety could help replace Bud Clark<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Offensive line starting to jell with new scheme<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Why head coach Sonny Dykes was more pleased with this practice<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192All-Big 12 safety embracing leadership role<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Why this all-conference lineman transferred to TCU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Quarterbacks finish strong at practice after slow start<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Defensive back turning heads with spring performance<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Dykes disappointed with one early practice<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Life after Eric McAlister: Rebuilding the Horned Frogs’ receiver room<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192New offensive coordinator pleased with team’s early performance<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Linebacker ready to break out after waiting his turn<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Horned Frogs hit ground running on first day of camp<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Five storylines to watch in spring camp<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Done deal: Dykes agrees to contract extension<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192Defensive coordinator gets contract extension<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192North Texas game added to 2027 after ACC school cancels<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2192TCU picked for Thanksgiving showdown with Texas Tech<\/a><\/p>\n

Quarterback<\/p>\n

Starter: Jaden Craig<\/p>\n

Backup: Adam Schobel<\/p>\n

Breakdown: Craig was the biggest addition from the portal, brought in to replace Josh Hoover. Despite some rough showings in a few scrimmages, Craig performed well overall<\/a> as he gets acclimated to a new team, scheme and a much tougher level of college football. Craig is more polished than Schobel at this stage of his career, but the future is still bright for the redshirt freshman.<\/p>\n

Running back<\/p>\n

Starter: Jeremy Payne<\/p>\n

Backup: Jon Denman<\/p>\n

Breakdown: Another position with an established pecking order, Payne and Denman will enter fall camp as the top running backs in the rotation. Payne rushed for 623 yards and five touchdowns in 2025, while Denman rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns as a true freshman.<\/p>\n

Wide receiver<\/p>\n

Starters: Jordan Dwyer, Terry Shelton, Ed Small<\/p>\n

Backups: Jeremy Scott, Dozie Ezukanma, Major Everhart<\/p>\n

Breakdown: Only one starter returns from last season, and that\u2019s Dwyer, who will move into McAlister\u2019s role as the No. 1 option. Small was the first man up when slot receiver Joseph Manjack dealt with injuries last season and will have an intense battle with Everhart in fall camp. Shelton performed the best at outside receiver, but Ezukanma also had a strong spring. Scott was brought in from South Alabama, but missed spring camp with an injury.<\/p>\n

Tight end<\/p>\n

Starter: Ka\u2019Morreun Pimpton<\/p>\n

Backup: Mason Peterson<\/p>\n

Breakdown: The tight end position was among the most banged up during spring camp, so this will be one of the more difficult projections. Pimpton was able to get through camp healthy, and that gives him the inside track to start. Who his backup will be is the biggest question. Peterson and Lafayette Kaiuway missed spring camp, allowing Kari Ashley and Braden Bach to get more reps. When he\u2019s been on the field Peterson and Kaiuway have showed a good mix of blocking and receiving potential.<\/p>\n

Offensive line<\/p>\n

Starters: Ben Taylor Whitfield (LT), Cade Bennett (LG), Jaheim Buchanon (C), Noah McKinney (RG), Ryan Hughes (RT)<\/p>\n

Backups: Witten Van Hoy, Samir Camacho, Cooper Powers, Killian Registe, Wesley Harvey<\/p>\n

Breakdown: TCU brings back three starters from last year\u2019s unit in Taylor-Whitfield, Bennett and Hughes. The Horned Frogs brought in Buchanon from Florida International and McKinney from Oklahoma State to solidify the interior of the offensive line.<\/p>\n

Van Hoy and Harvey had solid camps at tackle, as did Camacho and Registe on the interior before both endured injuries that knocked them out of camp. True freshman guard Devan Robinson is another player to know.<\/p>\n

Defensive line<\/p>\n

Starters: Paul Oyewale (DE), Markis Deal (NT), Ansel Din-Mbuh (DT), Zach Chapman (STUD)<\/p>\n

Backups: Chad Woodfork, Kelten Mickell, Tristan Johnson, Koron Hayward<\/p>\n

Breakdown: TCU brought back the entirety of its defensive line, which is one reason the program is optimistic about what it can do defensively this season. Chapman moves from defensive end to the Horned Frogs\u2019 hybrid linebacker-pass rusher stud position with the staff wanting him and Oyewale to be on the field at the same time. Deal and Din-Mbuh were standouts on the interior last year.<\/p>\n

Hayward was brought in from Western Kentucky and played stud while Chapman rehabbed from an injury. Johnson and Mickell were the most productive reserve defensive tackles. Defensive end will be interesting to sort out, as Woodfork will have plenty of competition to stave off to make the rotation. He\u2019ll need a big fall camp to stay in this spot.<\/p>\n

Linebackers<\/p>\n

Starters: Max Carroll, Michael Short<\/p>\n

Backups: Michael Teason, Anthony Williams<\/p>\n

Breakdown: Replacing Kaleb Elarms-Orr and Namdi Obiazor will be a daunting task, as both players are expected to be selected in this weekend\u2019s NFL draft. Carroll\u2019s performance during camp put the staff\u2019s mind at ease that there won\u2019t be much of a drop-off as Carroll takes over Elarms-Orr\u2019s position. Who plays beside him remains a question.<\/p>\n

Short was brought in from Virginia Tech and had a strong close to camp, including an interception in a scrimmage. Teason is a reserve from last season, while Williams is a redshirt freshman looking to crack the rotation after taking a season to add weight.<\/p>\n

Cornerback<\/p>\n

Starters: Vernon Glover, Gil Jackson<\/p>\n

Backups: Kalen Carroll, Teon Parks<\/p>\n

Breakdown: The most improved position group, according to head coach Sonny Dykes, the corners are expected to be more productive this season with the emergence of Jackson. Glover was a starter last season and is another year removed from an ACL injury that made him miss all off 2024. Carroll and Parks are veteran corners with starting experience at the Power Four level, giving TCU a solid four-man rotation.<\/p>\n

Safety<\/p>\n

Starters: Jamel Johnson (SS), Jordan Lester (FS), Julius Simms (nickel)<\/p>\n

Backups: Kaden McFadden, Jacob Fields, Kylin Jackson<\/p>\n

Breakdown: Clark will be missed in the safety room, but TCU does return Johnson, an All-Big 12 selection last season. He was one of the top performers in camp and has All-American potential. The two other safety spots are up for grabs with Fields pushing Lester throughout camp. Fields was voted Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year at Louisiana Tech last season. Nickel is also up for grabs, and Simms and Jackson will battle in fall camp.<\/p>\n

Specialists<\/p>\n

Starters: Kyle Lemmermann (K), John Hoyet Chance (P)<\/p>\n

Backups: Nate McCashland, Easton Black<\/p>\n

Breakdown: Lemmermann should be the starter at kicker, but needs to be more consistent to hold onto his position. Chance was brought in from Louisiana Tech and had a solid camp.<\/p>\n

Game schedule dates, times, locations<\/p>\n

Rangers \u25b6<\/p>\n

April 17 Rangers 5, Seattle 0<\/p>\n

April 18 Seattle 7, Rangers 3<\/p>\n

April 19 Seattle 5, Rangers 2<\/p>\n

April 21 Rangers 5, Pittsburgh 1<\/p>\n

April 22 Pittsburgh 8, Rangers 4<\/p>\n

April 23 Rangers 6, Pittsburgh 1<\/p>\n

April 24 vs. Athletics, 7:05 p.m., CW<\/p>\n

April 25 vs. Athletics, 6:05 p.m., RSN<\/p>\n

April 26 vs. Athletics, 1:35 p.m., RSN<\/p>\n

April 27 vs. N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m., RSN<\/p>\n

April 28 vs. N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m., RSN<\/p>\n

April 29 vs. N.Y. Yankees, 1:35 p.m., RSN<\/p>\n

TCU Baseball \u25b6<\/p>\n

April 14 TCU 12, Tarleton State 5<\/p>\n

April 17 Baylor 11, TCU 4<\/p>\n

April 19 TCU 5, Baylor 4 (doubleheader)<\/p>\n

April 19 TCU 10, Baylor 2 (doubleheader)<\/p>\n

April 21 TCU 6, Dallas Baptist 5 (10 innings)<\/p>\n

April 24 vs. Houston, 6 p.m., ESPN+<\/p>\n

April 25 vs. Houston, 2 p.m., ESPN+<\/p>\n

April 26 vs. Houston, 1 p.m., ESPN+<\/p>\n

April 29 vs. UT Arlington, 6 p.m., ESPN+<\/p>\n

May 1 at Oklahoma State, 6 p.m., ESPN+<\/p>\n

May 2 at Oklahoma State, 6 p.m., ESPN+<\/p>\n

May 3 at Oklahoma State, 1 p.m., ESPN+<\/p>\n

Stars \u25b6<\/p>\n

First-round playoff series (Stars lead 2-1)<\/p>\n

Game 1: April 18 Minnesota 6, Stars 1<\/p>\n

Game 2: April 20 Stars 4, Minnesota 2<\/p>\n

Game 3: April 22 Stars 4, Minnesota 3 (2OT)<\/p>\n

Game 4: April 25 at Minnesota, 4:30 p.m., TBS, truTV, HBO Max, Victory+<\/p>\n

Game 5: April 28 vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m., ESPN2, Victory+<\/p>\n

Game 6 (if necessary): April 30 at Minnesota, TBA<\/p>\n

Game 7 (if necessary): May 2 vs. Minnesota, TBA<\/p>\n

Wings\u25b6<\/p>\n

April 30 at Indiana (preseason), 6 p.m., Ion<\/p>\n

May 3 vs. Las Vegas (at Austin) (preseason), 6 p.m., Ion<\/p>\n

May 9 at Indiana, noon, ABC<\/p>\n

May 12 vs. Atlanta, 7 p.m., KFAA<\/p>\n

May 14 vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m., Amazon Prime Video<\/p>\n

TCU Football \u25b6<\/p>\n

Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), TBA<\/p>\n

Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, TBA<\/p>\n

Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, TBA<\/p>\n

Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA<\/p>\n

Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA<\/p>\n

Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA<\/p>\n

Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, TBA<\/p>\n

Cowboys \u25b6<\/p>\n

TBA vs. TBA (at Rio de Janeiro), TBA<\/p>\n

2026 opponents (dates and times TBA; one home game will be in Rio)<\/p>\n

FC Dallas \u25b6<\/p>\n

March 14 FC Dallas 3, San Diego 3<\/p>\n

March 21 FC Dallas 4, Houston 3<\/p>\n

April 4 FC Dallas 4, D.C. United 0<\/p>\n

April 11 FC Dallas 1, St. Louis 1<\/p>\n

April 18 FC Dallas 2, LA Galaxy 2<\/p>\n

April 22 vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV<\/p>\n

April 25 at Seattle, 9:30 p.m., Apple TV<\/p>\n

May 2 at NY Red Bulls, 6:30 p.m., Apple TV<\/p>\n

May 9 vs. Salt Lake, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV<\/p>\n

May 13 vs. Vancouver, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV<\/p>\n

Texas Motor Speedway \u25b6<\/p>\n

April 23-25 Pate Swap Meet<\/p>\n

April 30-May 2 High Limit Racing Stockyard Stampede<\/p>\n

May 1 NASCAR Truck Series: SpeedyCash.com 250<\/p>\n

May 2 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: Andy’s Frozen Custard 340<\/p>\n

May 3 NASCAR Cup Series: Wurth 400<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spring camp offered a glimpse of what TCU football\u2019s lineup could be in the fall. The Horned Frogs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267601,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[47900,73710,2124,116,118,117,8164,9425,98530,99794,853,8163],"class_list":["post-267600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-bud-clark","tag-d-c-united","tag-fc-dallas","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news","tag-horned-frogs","tag-sonny-dykes","tag-spring-camp","tag-spring-performance","tag-tcu","tag-tcu-football"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}